Resilient floor and wall tile and method of preventing objectionable curling thereof



Feb. 23, 1954 D. w. MOORE ETAL 2,670,307

RESILIENT FLOOR AND WALL. TILE AND METHOD OF PREVENTING OBJECTIONABLECURLING THEREOF Filed Feb. 24, 1950 gvwe/wtoz DONALD W- MOORE ALONZO H.SEARL M9'MT Patented Feb. 23, 1954 TENT OFFICE RESILIENT FLOOR AND WALLTILE AND METHOD OF IR EVENTING OBJEC- TIONABLE CURLING THEREOF Donald W.Moore, Lancaster, and Alonzo H. Searl, Lancaster Township, LancasterCounty, Pa, assignors to Armstrong Cork Company, Lancaster, Pa., acorporation of Pennsylvania Application. February 24, 1950, Serial No.145,928

6 Claims.

T This invention relates to a resilient floor and wall tile and to amethod of preventing objectionable curling thereof. The invention isconcerned more particularly with a resilient floor or wall tile whichmay be installed in areas where moisture may be present and which mightcause objectionable curling of ordinary resilient tiles and to a methodof preventing such objectionable curling.

Resilient tiles ar used extensively in residential and businessbuildings where the tiles are installed on concrete supportingfoundations on or below grade. Basement areas of homes and stores arefrequently covered with tiles which are known in the trade as asphalttiles. Such tiles when installed in such areas are subject to moisturewhich penetrates the concrete supporting foundation and eventually comesinto contact with the under or back surface of the tiles which areadhesively joined to the supporting foundation. The trend inarchitectural design of houses is to provide a concrete slab on gradewhich may be provided with heating pipes for the radiant heating of thehouse. Resilient tiles are commonly used in covering such concreteslabs, and

the problem of curling is prevalent in such structures.

The curling problem is also present where the tiles are installed abovegrade with an adhesive containing water. In such installations themoisture present in the adhesive is capable of penetrating the backsurface of the tiles and objectionable curling often results.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method ofpreventing objectionable curling of resilient floor and wall tiles,particularly when installed on or below grade or when secured inposition by means of an. adhesive containing water.

Another object of the invention is to provide a resilient floor and walltile which may be installed in any location where the tile is suitablefor use, including surfaces below grade or on grade and regardless ofthe type of adhesive employed for bonding the tiles in place.

According to the present invention, the tiles are formed bymixing'filler particles and a binder, such as a plasticizedcoumarone-indene resin type binder,- sheeting the mass, and dieing tilestherefrom which are substantially flat and free from any objectionablecurling. The back: surface of the tiles is provided with a coating ofwater'- proofing material such as asphalt or coumaroneindene resin insolution, said. coating rendering the surface to which it is appliedimpervious to water."

In accordance with the method of the present invention,- the tiles socoated on the back surface are then adhesively joined to a supportingfoundation with the adhesive engaging the surface of the tiles which hasbeen treated with the coating of waterproofing composition. Preferably,of course, the tiles are coated with the composition prior to the timeof installation at the place of manufacture of the tiles, but thecoating composition may be applied at the place of installation.

In order thatthe invention may be readily understood, certain specificexamples will be described in conjunction with the attached drawing, inwhich:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a resilient tile embodying the presentinvention, and

Figure 2 is a magnified sectional view of the tile of Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 1, the resilient tile comprises a body 2 and acoating 3, the coating 3 preferably penetrating the body of the tile toa minor degree at least so as to render the surface to which the coatingis applied impervious to moisture.

Example I Tile composition: Pounds Coumarone-indene resin -C5 1'0'5Plasticizers 51 Fillers and pigments 444 The tile body may be formed bymixing together for thirty minutes in a mixer having a heated mixingchamber, the temperature of which is about 275 F., a batch of theforegoing formulation. After complete distribution of the binder overthe filler particles, the batch may be formed into a sheet A5" thickwhich is severed into tiles 9" x 9", for example. The tiles will besubstantially smooth-surfaced and free from objectionable curling.

The tiles so prepared may then be coated on their back surface with acoating composition 3 prepared in accordance with the following formula:I

Example II Coating composition: Pounds Coumarone-indene resin C5 "l0Petroleum oil 30 Solvent (carbon spirits) 67 tial solvent at least forthebiride'r cf the tiles, and

cloth for seventy-two hours.

this insures satisfactory penetration of the coating composition intothe body of the tiles. The quantity of coating composition applied isrelatively small. One gram, dry weight, of coating composition of theformula of Example II has been found satisfactory for a 9" x 9" tile ofthe formula of Example I.

In order to determine the curl-resistance of the finished product, astandard test has been established which is briefly as follows:

The test tile is heated to about 125 F. This tile is placed between twoglass plates and a weight of about 20 pounds is applied, preferably inengagement with the glass plate on the upper surface of the tile. Theweighted tile is then conditioned at a temperature of about 70 F. for aperiod of twenty-four hours in a room maintained at such temperature. Ametal pan is provided containing gallons of water to which has beenadded a buffer solution to adjust the pH of the water to about 9.6. Thisis the approximate pH of moisture penetrating a concrete supportingfoundation. A x 10" x A" plate glass support is provided disposed withinthe pan but above the level of the water therein. A cotton cloth isdisposed on the glass plate and draped so that its edges lie within thebody of the Water in the pan, and it serves as a wick to convey waterfrom the pan to the portion of the cloth disposed on the glass plate. Atile conditioned as mentioned above is placed upon the wet fabric on theglass plate, and a period of one-half hour is permitted for the tile toreach an equilibrium condition. Initial curling is then measured.

The amount of curl is measured by a gauge which has a central indicatorfoot and two flat surfaces or feet for engagement with the tile adjacentto two of the diagonal corners thereof. The indicator is zeroed when thetwo flat surfaces for engagement with the corners of the tile and thecentral foot of the gauge are parallel. The gauging is accomplished inboth directions, that is, diagonally across each pair of corners. Afterthe initial test, a final test is made after the test tile has been inengagement with the wet In order to secure a reasonable average, threetiles are normally tested across the opposite diagonal corners, thusproviding six readings. readings is considered the average curl for theparticular tile formulation with its particular coating formulation.

Tests have been made on tiles made in accordance with Example I givenabove, coated with 1" the coating composition of Example II. As acontrol, tiles made in accordance with Example I, but uncoated, havebeen tested under identical conditions. The control specimens had anaver- The average of these six I age curl of .0268". The tiles made inaccordance with the present invention, Example I, and in-- cluding thewater-impervious coating of Example II on the back surface had anaverage curl of Any curling in excess of .015" is consideredobjectionable. Minor curling below such limit can be tolerated, and itis preferred, of course, to have substantially no curling. By the termobjectionable curl as used in the specification and claims, it isintended to include curling of .015"

4 Example III The following example illustrates a coating applied to atile having the formulation of Example I above, produced in the samemanner as Example I except that the mix was permitted to remain in themixer at 275 F. for about minutes and was then sheeted and died intotiles. Petroleum oil was then rubbed onto the back surface of the tilesby use of a cloth saturated with the petroleum oil. About 1.13 grams ofoil were picked up by each 9 x 9" tile so treated.

The standard curl test described above was applied to a number of tilesso treated and to another group of untreated tiles made exactly in thesame manner with the same composition but not treated with the petroleumoil. The control specimens had an average curl of .0306", a veryobjectionable curl. The treated specimens had an average curl of .0029",an insignificant curl.

The following example gives the formulation for a further tilecomposition:

Example IV Tile composition: Pounds Coumarone-indene resin C5 4 7Plastieizer 31 Mix in (scrap from a prior run of the same composition)300 Filler and pigment 222 The batch was mixed for thirty minutes in aninternal mixer heated to a temperature of about 275 F. Upon completemixing the batch was discharged, formed into a A" sheet, and died into9" x 9" tiles. The backs of some of the tiles so formed were coated witha composition of the following formulation:

Example V Coating composition: Pounds Asphalt35 penetration 1938 Asphalt(safety) solvent 1111 The asphalt in solvent was applied to the tiles onthe back surfaces thereof by brush application and about one gram, dryweight, of the composition was applied to each 9" x 9" tile over theentire surface. After the solvent had evaporated, the tiles so treatedwere tested for curl and untreated specimens of the same compositionwere tested as controls. The control specimens had an average curl of.0373"; the treated specimens showed a zero curl;

Example VI Tiles made in accordance with Example I were coated with theasphalt coating composition of Example V, and curl tests were madethereon as well as on control specimens. The control specimens had anaverage curl of .0268, the same as Example I, and the asphalt-coatedspecimens had a curl of .0007".

While the invention is particularly applicable to tiles made with abinder of plasticized coumarone-indene resin, the invention is notlimited thereto, for the problem is present with tiles having variousbinders where the tile is subject to objectionable curl upon moisturepickup. Tiles made with some binders are less subject to such curl thanothers. For example, a binder including a substantial portion of asphaltwill not be subject to as great a curling tendency as the examples givenabove. The coating materials are not limited to those which have. beengiven for illustration purposes. Any coating composition which rendersthe surface to which it is applied impervious to moisture will beacceptable. It is preferred to use a coating composition which willpresent a surface to which the adhesive used in installing the tile willbond, and it is preferred to have the coating composition in a solventwhich will tend to penetrate the surface of the tile to a minor extent,at least sufiicient to secure the requisite water imperviousness.Paraffin, for example, may be used with very good results insofar ascurl resistance is concerned, but the adhesives which may be used forsecuring tiles so coated into position on a support or base are ratherlimited. The particular adhesive used for securing the tiles is notcritical. Asphalt cut with a solvent is generally preferred where thetiles are installed on or below grade. Sulphite liquor adhesives may beused in installations above grade with the treated tiles describedabove, even though such adhesives contain water and might with ordinarytiles cause objectionable curling.

The particular foundation to which tiles are applied will vary. Whilecoumarone-indene resin bound tiles are most commonly used in ongrade andbelow-grade installations, they are also used in other areas; and wheremoisture pickup is a factor, the tiles of the present invention areresistant to curling regardless of the foundation to which the tiles areapplied.

We claim:

1. A method of preventing objectionable curling of moisture-absorbent,resilient floor and wall tiles composed of a composition comprisingfiller particles and a binder of plasticized coumaroneindene resin,which tiles tend to curl when subjected to contact with moisture on theback surface thereof and curl objectionably when they are installed andcome into contact with moisture on the back surface, comprisingproviding fiat tiles of said composition free of objectionable curling,coating the back surface of the tiles with a solution ofcoumarone-indene resin in a solvent which has a. solvent action on thecoumaroneindene resin binder for the tiles, and drying the coating toprovide a water-impervious coumarone-indene resin film on the backsurface of the tiles and penetrating below the surface thereof, wherebyobjectionable curling of the tiles will be prevented upon contact withmoisture on the back surface.

2. A method of preventing objectionable curling of moisture-absorbent,resilient floor and wall tiles composed of a composition comprisingfiller particles and a binder of plasticized coumaroneindene resin,which tiles tend to curl when subjected to contact with moisture on theback surface thereof and curl objectionably when they are installed andcome into contact with moisture on the back surface, comprisingproviding flat tiles of said composition free of objectionable curling,coating the back surface of the tiles with a solution of asphalt in asolvent which has a solvent action on the coumarone-indene resin binderfor the tiles, and drying the coating to provide a water-impervious filmof asphalt on the back surface of the tiles and penetrating below thesurface thereof, whereby objectionable curling of the tiles will beprevented upon contact with moisture on the back surface.

3. A method of preventing objectionable curling of moisture-absorbent,resilient floor and wall tiles composed of a composition comprisingfiller particles and a binder of plastioized coumaroneindene resin,which tiles tend to curl when subjected to contact with moisture on theback surface thereof and curl objectionably when they are installed andcome into contact with moisture on the back surface, comprisingproviding flat tiles of said composition free of objectionable curling,coating the back surface of the tiles with a coating compositioncomprising a solution of a bituminous substance selected from the groupconsisting of asphalt and coumarone-indene resin in a solvent which hasa solvent action on the coumarone-indene resin binder for the tiles, anddrying the coating to provide a water-impervious film of bituminoussubstance on the back surface of the tiles and penetrating below thesurface thereof, whereby objectionable curling of the tiles will beprevented upon contact with moisture on the back surface.

4. A resilient floor or wall tile comprising a moisture-absorbent bodyof filler particles and a binder of plasticized coumarone-indene resin,which tile normally tends to curl when subjected to contact withmoisture on the back surface thereof and curls objectionably when it isinstalled and comes into contact with moisture on the back surface, anda coating composition comprising the dried residue of a solution of abituminous substance selected from the group consisting of asphalt andcoumarone-indene resin in a'solvent which has a solvent action on thecoumarone-indene resin binder for the tile disposed as awater-impervious film of bituminous substanceon the back surface of thetile and penetrating below the surface thereof and rendering said tilewater impervious and providing a tile which may be installed upon asupporting foundation in contact with moisture without objectionablecurling resulting.

5. A resilient floor or wall tile as set forth in claim 4 in which thebituminous substance is asphalt.

6. A resilient floor or wall tile in accordance with claim 4 in whichthe bituminous substance is coumarone-indene resin. I

DONALD W. MOORE. ALONZO' H. SEARL.

References Cited in theme of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,319,879 Lindley Oct. 28, 1919 1,726,215 De Both Aug. 27,1929 1,743,764 Fischer Jan. 14, 1930 2,402,903 Massey et al. June 25,1946 2,496,566 Szwarc Feb. 7, 1950

1. A METHOD OF PREVENTING OBJECTIONABLE CURLING A MOISTURE-ABSORBENT,RESILIENT FLOOR AND WALL TILES CCOMPOSED OF A COMPOSITION COMPRISINGFILLER PARTICLES AND A BINDER OF PLASTICIZED COUMARONEINDENE RESIN,WHICH TILES TEND TO CURL WHEN SUBJECTED TO CONTACT WITH MOSITURE ON THEBACK SURFACE THEREOF AND CURL OBJECTIONABLY WHEN THEY ARE INSTALLED ANDCOME INTO CONTACT WITH MOISTURE ON THE BACK SURFACE, COMPRISINGPROVIDING FLAT TILES OF SAID COMPOSITION FREE OF OBJECTIONABLE CURLING,COATING THE BACK SURFACE OF THE TILES WITH A SOLUTION OFCOUMARONE-INDENE RESIN IN A SOLVENT WHICH HAS A SOLVENT ACTION ON THECOUMARONEINDENE RESIN BINDER FOR THE TILES, AND DRYING THE COATING TOPROVIDE A WATER-IMPERVIOUS COUMARONE-INDENE RESIN FILM ON THE BACKSURFACE OF THE TILES AND PENETRATING BELOW THE SURFACE THEREOF, WHEREBYOBJECTIONABLE CURLING OF THE TILES WILL BE PREVENTED UPON CONTACT WITHMOISTURE ON THE BACK SURFACE.